1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an elastic foot support and in particular is directed to such supports for preventing and alleviating problems resulting from dilated veins of the foot in the metatarsal and tarsal areas below the ankle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It appears desirable for persons whose occupations and activities require standing on their feet for relatively long periods of time to protect themselves against the consequences of excessive dilatation of the superficial venous system of the foot. Consequently there is a need for a simple, inexpensive, sanitary and efficient means for affording such protection.
The various prior art arch and ankle supports and braces, being directed to correct conditions and afford protection relative to the muscles, tendons, bones and joints of the foot and ankle, are not adaptable as vein supports. Likewise, elastic stockings and anklets, including those custom-made for therapeutic purposes, have been found to be ineffective in supporting the superficial veins of the foot below the malleoli by failing to apply pressure where needed most and often to aggrevate the condition by applying excessive pressure in the wrong places, for example, around the ankle above the malleoli where the pressure acts as a tourniquet, hampering the upward flow of venous circulation from the foot.
This failure of the various prior art devices is due primarily to the lack of provision for the anatomy of the ankle and the location, with respect to the protruding malleoli, of the large superficial veins of the foot, namely, the medial marginal and the lateral marginal veins which collect the blood from the foot through a collateral network and become the great saphenous and small saphenous veins, respectively, as they emerge above the ankle.